Senate committee considers requiring report of lost, stolen firearms

JEFFERSON CITY - A Senate committee is scheduled to discuss a bill in a hearing Wednesday afternoon that would require firearm owners to report their firearms have been stolen or lost.

The firearm owner would have “within seventy-two hours of discovering the loss or theft” to report that his or her firearm is missing or stolen to any local law enforcement agency or sheriff’s office.

Once the owner reports his or her firearm is no longer in his or her possession, the bill specifies that the make, model, and serial number must be entered by the local law enforcement agency into the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System.

This would allow for the agency to cross-check firearms that are found by officers in the field.

If a firearm is not in the system as reported lost or stolen, it “may be considered as evidence that the last recorded owner of the firearm violated this section.”

According to the bill, failure to make the report would result in the owner receiving an infraction. Infractions under the amendment could include a fine up to $200, according to the current statute’s section on fines.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, introduced the bill to the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee as an amendment to the current Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 571 on weapons offenses.